Report: 80 recommendations for improving fisheries in Qld

Pam has been at the Daily Mercury since March 2013 and has also worked as a journalist in Batemans Bay and Wellington both in NSW. And yes, that does make her a Blues supporter. Growing up she moved around different places including Sydney, Moree, Wollongong and lived for about two years as a high school student on a small island in Micronesia called Pohnpei. Pam loves water sports, including SCUBA diving, snorkelling and kayaking but her awful balance means she’ll never touch a surf board. Ever...

One of the recommendations was categorising species into tiers, which would allow authorities to determine the level of management needed.

For example, tier one stocks would be those at the highest level of social and economic importance while tier three stocks would need little management.

Each tier would have different harvest strategies.

The report also recommended a "whole of government" policy position for marine parks and fisheries areas and for all commercial fish buyers to be registered and report their purchases.

The report said 279 submissions were made with the majority from recreational fishers. It said there was strong support for zoning concepts from recreational fishers.

"There was a strong flavour, particularly amongst recreational fishing submissions, that inshore fish stocks were in a depleted state and that action needed to be taken to promote recovery," the report said. "Many wanted a better chance to catch a fish."